Mineral separating and sizing device



' P. J. MINICHELLO MINERAL SEPARA'I'ING AND SIZING DEVICE Filed April 6, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ZZ 72a 220 x f rah lav/l4: 1 m 5 MINERAL SEPARATING AND SIZING DEVICE gwwa Mk. w

Patented Dec. 18, 1945 UNI-TED smres; PATENT Q-FFICE.

Beter..l:.1\iinichell0,- Bittston, Pa., assignor of.-onehalfi to..Michaellvalenzano, v Dunmore, Pa.

Application-April 6i 1942;rSe1'ial No. 437,888

7- Glaims. (Cl. 2093-454) This? invention relates to separating andsi'zing devices? Arr objectof'this-invention is to. provide a separating device for'separatinga mineral" suchas coalorthe like-fi'omheavier mineralisuchasrock; siltor-thelike:

Another objectoi tliisinvention i'e'to provide a trough through which the materi'alisadapted tbe -move'd by a' fluid mediumthe: trough". being provided-with an-upstanding bafileoveravhich themixtureof the fluid and: the material'is'iadapted to pass; and also a screenin'the trough bottom through which the heavy material is adapted to drop, the coal passing on through; the trough to the-discharge-endthereofi A further object of' this invention is to provide in a separatorofthis kind a fluid agitator for agitating the material-passing' over and dropping through-the-screen.

To' th'e foregoing objects and to others which may-hereinafter appear; the invention consists of thenovel-combination, constructionand arrange mentof parts as'will 'be' hereinafter'referred to and illustrated in the accompanying; drawings whereinis shown-anembodiment of the invention;- but it is-to be understood that changes, varia tions 'andmodifications may 'be'resorted to which falliwithin the scope of the=invention as"- claimed:

Insthedrawingsi Figure l' is. a: detail top plan of a mineral separator? constructed" according to an embodiment OfithiSiinVHtlOIl,

Eigure 2iis alongitudinal section partly broken awayta'ken: on the 1ine2-2 ofFigurel;

Figure 3 is an enlarged" fragmentary vertical section ofithez screen and agitating structure,

Figure Lisa-top plan of the agitator or spray nozzletstructure,

Figure: is: a sectionalfview taken on the line 5c-5ioii:Fi'gure14;- and T Figure; 6: is a; fragmentary sectional view't'aken on the line 6-6 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral lfl' designates generally: an: elongated. troughwhich is open; on; its upper: side andis formed of a bottom wall-l hand-upstanding side walls I Thetrough lllaatrits forward or. discharge end is open and at the-rear or intake end of the trough- I0 there is mounted a vertically disposedv material duct; generally designated-as l3; Theduct. l3 includes anupstandingreanwall I 2, opposite side walls I 5 and aeforward wall: l6; Theforward' wall Hiex-tends transversely across the; rear en'd'of thetrough l0 and terminates at itslowerrendin spaced relation to-the upper: side of: the -bottom; wall: I I: thereby providingjopening I? through which the materialis adapted to passfor entrance into thejreceiving end of the trough' lit The material in' the form of coal or the like is discharged into the receiving chute or duct: l3, passing downwardly as-shown by the-arrows l8, and when the materialreaches the bottom of theduct' 13, this materialis forced forwardly into thetrough lfl by means ofa water discharge nozzle l9. The nozzle it extends through the rear wall I4and maybe provided with a regulating valve 26'.

Thequantit'y of'coal or other-mineral including the water passing through the opening IT into the receiving endof the trough IUis regulated by means of a verticallyshiftablegate valve2 l'. The valve 21- is constructed in the-form-of 'aplate and is vertically slidable-in pairs of opposed angleshaped guide members 22' and 2-3 which arefi'xed to the inner sides of the sidewalls 12. The valve 2 lis regulated'or adjusted by means of a threaded shaft 24" which is'threaded through a transversely extending bar 25'; The lower end of theshaft 24" is rotatably mounted in an L-shaped bracket 26 which has one side 2-! thereof fixed to the adjacent side of the valve 2'] and the other side 28 ofthe bracket 25 extends horizontally and forwardly from the valve 2|.

The lower end of the shaft 24 is swivelly or rotatably mounted in the horizontal leg 28- and is held against endwise movement by means of upper and lower collars 29 and 30 which are fixed to the shaft 24 on opposite sides of the leg 28. Theoppositeside walls 12 of the trough ID are provided with upwardly extending side portions 31 which extend above the upper edges of the side walls l2 thereby forming an enlarged receiving chamber forwardly of the intake opening 11. In order to provide a means whereby the water Will thoroughly mix with the mineral in the receiving chamber 32, I have provided an upstanding bafile 33 which is secured transversely across the receiving chamber 32 forwardly of the opening IT. The baflle 33 is disposed between vertical'guidemembers 34-and 35- which-are fixed to' the sidewalls l? of the trough l Within the receivingchamber 32% The-bafile33 is formed with a pai'r'ofupwardly andrearwardly'inclined 'bafiles'fiil and laandalso with an opening H sothat the mixturemay flow over'the baffle 69 and along the lower portion of thetrough' HT, thebottom walll I ofwhich has-a metal lining 12-. Aninner trough 13 is disposed Withinthe trough I 9, extending forwardly and downwardly from thebafiie'lfl towardthedischarge end-of the trough l0=and terminatesat and then merges in a straight wall 11b which is parallel with the side wall 15, thus providing a narrow upper trough for a major portion of the length thereof. The trough 13 is secured to the trough I by means of fastening devices 19. The material passing along the trough l0 below the trough 13 as indicated by the arrows 36a will pass over the screen 31 where the heavier ingredients will drop through the screen 31 into the hopper 40.

The water and light mineral are adapted to flow over the top of the baiile 33, as indicated by the arrows 36, and then to move downwardly'into the trough 13 and flow forwardly towards the discharge end of the trough. Preferably, the bottom wall H is inclined to the horizontal so that the Water and mineral will readily flow forwardly to the discharge endof the trough.

The trough ID at a point closely adjacent the dischargeend thereof is provided with a mineral separating screen or perforated plate 31. The screen 31 is mounted in a recess 38 formed in the bottom wall H and secured therein by means of fastening devices 39. A collector or hopper 40 is disposed in depending relation to the bottom wall H below the screen 31 and the bottom Wall l I is formed with an opening 4| so that the heavy material passing through the screen 31 may drop into the hopper or collector 40. The hopper or collector 4B is formed with front and rear walls 42 and 43, respectively, opposite side walls 44 and I a bottom wall 45. The front and rear walls 42 and 43 are disposed in downwardly convergent relation and a pipe 46 is secured in the bottom wall 45 so that the material engaging in the hopper or collector 40 may be drawn off from the hopper or collector. An L 41 is secured to the lower end of the pipe 46 and has secured to one side thereof a pipe 48 which is formed at its rear end with an inclined face 49 against which a closur 50 mounted on a pivot is adapted to gravitatingly engage. with a hook or handle 52 so that a weight may be hung on the hook 52 to retard the discharge of the material. The closure 56 may be of sufiioient weight or may otherwise be held by additional weights in a closed position so that it will not move to an open position until a predetermined pressure of the material has been formed in the collector 4!], or in the waste pipe 48, whereupon the closure 58 will automatically move to an open position and will gravitatingly close when a predetermined quantity of waste has been discharged.

In order to provide a means whereby the material in the trough l0, above the screen 31, and the material in the upper portion of the hopper or collector 40 may be agitated in order to more thoroughly separate the lighter mineral or material, I have provided an agitator generally designated as 53. The agitator 53 is constructed in the form of a substantially globular hollow body 54 which has secured to the bottom wall 55 thereof a pipe 56. The pipe 56 has secured to the lower end thereof a L 51, and a pipe 58 which is connected to a source of water or other liquid supply The closure 50 is formed is connected to the lower or horizontal side of the L 51.

A regulating valve 59 is adapted to be interposed in the pipe 58. The nozzle body 53 includes an upstanding cylindrical wall 60 having formed integral therewith a horizontal or annular wall GI and a top wall 62 is secured to and disposed in upwardly offset relation with respect to the horizontal wall ii. The body 54 is formed with a plurality of upwardly and outwardly directed jet openings 53 and the walls 80 and BI also have upwardly and outwardly directed openings 64 and 65 through which water is adapted to be ejected. The top wall 62 is also provided with a plurality of jet openings 56 which may be disposed in upwardly divergent relation so that the water discharged from the agitator member 53 will contact substantially the entire lower side of the screen 31 and will be forced through the perforations of the screen 31.

The openings 53 and 54 in the agitator member 53 also provide a means whereby the agitating jets of water will extend over the entire screen 31 so that the water and material above the screen 31 will be agitated to a degree suflicient to separate the lighter material from the heavier material, the latter dropping through the screen 31 into the collector 40.

In the use and operation of this separator, the material is initially discharged into the receiving duct l3 and will gravitatingly move downwardly in this duct towards the lower end thereof, the water being forced out of the nozzle ill will force the material in the lower open portion of the duct l3 through an opening l1, and the combined water and material will then impinge against the baflle 33 and will flow over this baffle and then downwardly along the trough I0.

In order to provide a means whereby the combined water and material may not be sprayed or splashed out of the mixing chamber 32, l have provided transversely disposed and inclined baffle 61 which is secured between the side wall extensions 3| at the forward ends thereof. The

material flowing along the trough l0 and over the screen 31 will be agitated by the water rising from the spray member 53 and the heavier material will drop through the screen 31, whereas the lighter material will flow over the screen 31 to the discharge end of the trough. While this separator has been designed for separating coal or the like, it may be used for separating any other desired mineral from undesired material, and by means of the screen 31 the separator also constitutes a sizing means for sizing the material as the smaller material may drop down through the screen 31 into the collector 40. The amount of material passing through the opening I1 may be regulated by vertical adjustment of the gate 2| which is effected by a hand wheel or operator 68 carried by the upper end of the threaded shaft 24.

What I claim is:

1. A mineral separator comprising in combination a trough, a receiving hopper at one end of said trough, a liquid discharge nozzle at the lower end of said hopper for forcing the material lengthwise of said trough, a vertically adjustable gate valve slidable between the rear end of said trough and said hopper, an upstanding baiile in said trough forwardly of said valve, a screen in the bottom of said trough forwardly of said baflle, a collector below said screen, and means in said collector spaced downwardly from said screen for agitating the material passing through and over said screen said means comprising a nozzle head having a plurality of fluid jet openings.

2. A mineral separator comprising in combination a trough, a receiving hopper at one end of said trough, a liquid discharge nozzle at the lower end of said hopper for forcing the material lengthwise of said trough, a vertically adjustable gate valve slidable between the rear end of said trough and said hopper, an upstanding bafile in said trough forwardly of said valve, a screen in the bottom of said trough forwardly of said baffle, a collector below said screen, and a spray nozzle in said collector spaced downwardly from said screen for agitating the material passing through and over said screen said nozzle being formed with a plurality of jet openings.

3. A mineral separator comprising in combination a trough, a receiving hopper at one end of said trough, a liquid discharge nozzle at the lower end of said hopper for forcing the material lengthwise of said trough, a mixing chamber communicating with said trough and disposed adjacent said hopper, a vertically adjustable gate valve disposed between said hopper and said chamber, an upstanding baffle in said chamber forwardly of said valve, a screen carried by the trough in the bottom thereof forwardly of said bafiie, a collector depending below said screen, and means in said collector spaced downwardly from said screen for agitating the material passing through and over said screen said means comprising a nozzle head having a plurality of fluid jet openings.

4. A mineral separator comprising in combination a trough, a receiving hopper at one end of said trough, a liquid discharge nozzle at the lower end of said hopper for forcing the material lengthwise of said trough, a mixing chamber communicating with said trough and disposed adjacent said hopper, a vertically adjustable gate valve disposed between said hopper and said chamber, guide means for said valve, means for vertically adjusting said valve, an upstanding bafile in said chamber forwardly of said valve, a screen carried by the trough in the bottom thereof forwardly of said baflle, a collector depending below said screen, and means in said collector spaced downwardly from said screen for agitating the material passing through and over said screen said means comprising a nozzle head having a plurality of fluid jet openings.

5. A mineral separator comprising in combination a trough, a receiving hopper at one end of said trough, a, liquid discharge nozzle at the lower end of said hopper for forcing the material lengthwise of said trough, a mixing chamber communicating with said trough and disposed adjacent said hopper, a vertically adjustable gate valve disposed between said hopper and said chamber, an upstanding bafile in said chamber forwardly of said valve, an inclined guard plate at the forward end of said chamber above the trough bottom, a screen carried by the trough in the bottom thereof forwardly of said baflle, a collector depending below said screen, and means in said collector spaced downwardly from said screen for agitating the material passing through and over said screen said means comprising a nozzle head having a plurality of fluid jet openings.

6. A mineral separator comprising a trough, a receiving hopper at one end of said trough, a liquid discharge nozzle at the lower end of said hopper for forcing the material lengthwise of said trough, an upstanding baflle plate in said trough forwardly of said hopper, said baffle plate having an intermediate opening therethrough and including a lower upwardly and rearwardly extending bafile member extending from said opening, and an upper upwardly and rearwardly inclined bafiie member, an inner trough disposed within said first trough and extending from said upper bafiie member, a screen in said first trough below said upper trough, a collector depending below said screen, and means agitating the material passing over said screen.

'7. A mineral separator comprising a trough, a receiving hopper at one end of said trough, a

liquid discharge nozzle at the lower end of said,

hopper for forcing the material lengthwise of said trough, an upstanding baflle plate in said 40 trough forwardly of saidhopper, said baflie plate 

